January 29, 2010

So, lately my Sarah has been having trouble getting to sleep. She heads up to bed okay, brushes teeth, goes potty, climbs into bed. Each night she likes to read before bed, so she is allowed to pick a few books to read. She picks her books and is very good about turning the light off when she is finished. She goes right to sleep after this nightly ritual. Until recently. For some reason things are freaking her out. She won't listen to her Wicked CD at bedtime anymore because she says it scares her. She refuses to sleep without a bunch of "buddies" on her bed with her. She even refuses to turn off the light - even if we turn on the hall light and the bathroom light. I'm not quite sure what is creating these fears, but she is extra clingy at bedtime.

Last night Daddy took her up to bed. I had already put Molly to sleep, so they needed to be quiet up there! Daddy tucked her in, made sure she had her books, and came back downstairs. Within ten minutes, Sarah was creeping down the steps saying she was scared. We both told her that if she promised to go to sleep, she could sleep in our bed. And that was the last I heard of her. Until I went up to go to bed myself. It had been nearly 2 hours since we'd heard from her. This is what I saw when I opened my door:

Yes, that is Sarah, laying on Bronson's dog bed, snuggled up to Bronson, watching Toy Story (sorry for the horrible picture - camera phones just don't do it justice!).

And so it goes. She needed a big buddy to protect her. She loves that dog and wanted him to keep her safe while she slept. So I climbed into bed and let her sleep there, on the floor, with Bronson. This morning, this is what I found:

Those two snuggled up close all night long.

When I was little, we didn't have a dog, so I am just loving that Sarah has this big monster that she loves and cares for. She knows that her Big B will protect her and keep her safe. She feels no fear around him, and I am thankful for the sense of security that he provides for her. I'm sure that if he could talk, he'd let her know that he loves her just as much as she loves him!